http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/opinion/10brooks.html
Column by David Brooks, New York Times

I'm not sure if I buy all the stats and premises in this article, but it's something to consider.

"As my colleague David Leonhardt pointed out recently, in 1954, about 96 percent of American men between the ages of 25 and 54 worked. Today that number is around 80 percent. One-fifth of all men in their prime working ages are not getting up and going to work."


Is this caused by high unemployment, an unwillingness to work certain professions, a general apathy/laziness or our comfortable social safety net?



"Ten years ago, 5 million Americans collected a federal disability benefit. Now 8.2 million do.That costs taxpayers $115 billion a year, or about $1,500 per household. Government actuaries predict that the trust fund that pays for these benefits will run out of money within seven years. "


Has the standard for fed disabilites been lowered, are there more disabled people or have more people learned to game the system?


"Part of the problem has to do with human capital. More American men lack the emotional and professional skills they would need to contribute. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 35 percent of those without a high school diploma are out of the labor force, compared with less than 10 percent of those with a college degree."


Emotional skills?? I am baffled by the notion, but fear their is some substance to it.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/opinion/10brooks.html
Column by David Brooks, New York Times

Lazy Americans

...and they must be getting lazier by the read of this article.

idontlikebeingrightaboutshitlikethisbutiam



Edited 21 time(s). Last edit at 5/31/1967 05:57AM by WingNut.

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More men do the Mr. mom thing why the wife works. Many are retired after 20 years of public sector employment and drawing pensions. A lot of these guys retire in their 40's and brag about it.

It's no surprise to me that the entitlement culture of our society results in stats like this.Look at the French. Hell they riot over the government increasing their workweek above 30 hrs

This bit made me laugh:
"...or our comfortable social safety net?"

I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't live on the weekly allowance of ~$350 (taxed at that) that's considered unemployment insurance. Tisn't what I'd call comfortable either social safety net.

Some of Europe's pro-labor laws have what I'd say is a comfortable safety net but not the US. The US makes it very uncomfortable to be poor, mind you the poor do have their ways of gaming the system but for the majority of hard working Americans - being unemployed is a far cry from living in the comfortable social safety net.

It is taxed all right, but it is not like it is a paycheck where they deduct FICA and SS tax off of the unemployment check.

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"...your suffering will be legendary even in Hell!"

20% of average males do not work, while that number increases to 80% for FFXU users.

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That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

I wonder what percentage of that 20% are black?
*Not Racist*

Isn't some insane % of the population in jail? Does that factor into the numbers?

snowdenscold Wrote:
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> Isn't some insane % of the population in jail?
> Does that factor into the numbers?

Not the BLS stats. They use what is called a "household survey". They call up a sample group on the phone and actually ask how many people in the house are unemployed and then how many actively looked for work that week. So if you tell them that you are unemployed but didn't go out and apply somewhere you don't count as unemployed even though you want a job. That is why what is called "real unemployment is around 18% not the 9% the BoL currently reports.

snowdenscold Wrote:
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> Isn't some insane % of the population in jail?
> Does that factor into the numbers?


only if you are a black or hispanic male...then it's something like 33%

Those disabled and poorly-educated people sure are lucky.

Haha-

Put the disabled to work in the mines-

Honestly, what with the aging population in general, a 3.2 million increase in disability payments over the last ten years does not seem like that much of an obscene number . . .

"Ten years ago, 5 million Americans collected a federal disability benefit. Now 8.2 million do." -DB